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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — the amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. content — happy
  9. perch — the fish
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. toast — bread
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — high quality
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. season — of the year
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. season — in sport
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com